Birder: The bug-loving birds of summer

Diana Churchill

Wednesday

Jul 28, 2010 at 12:20 AM

Here we are - mired in the heat, haze and humidity of a coastal Georgia summer. To make things worse, there are bugs. It's no wonder that even the most avid birders resort to watching birds at feeders from the comfort of air-conditioned living rooms.

Nonetheless, all those flying insects are fine dining for some of our feathered summer residents. While Eastern bluebirds win the contest as our most popular bug-loving bird, lots of other species are out there munching on beetles, wasps, dragonflies, caterpillars, dragonflies, bees, ants, spiders, and flies.

One abundant bug-lover that seldom makes the headlines is the great crested flycatcher. With an olive back, lemon-yellow belly, and rusty tail, this bushy-crested, long-tailed flycatcher can be difficult to spot perched high in an oak tree. Fortunately, great crested flycatchers announce their presence with a loud "wheep, wheep, wheep." They also nest in tree cavities and will use manmade structures such as nest boxes, mailbox tubes, rain gutters and even dryer vents.

One of my friends hung a gourd near her front door, expecting to rent to a family of wrens or chickadees. She glanced into the gourd and was startled to see a bit of snakeskin. Later she saw a flycatcher bringing in nesting material. Consulting "The Birder's Handbook," she learned that snakeskin is one of the great crested flycatcher's signature decorating touches. Both parents help with incubation of the eggs, and once the eggs hatch, both parents work tirelessly to provide the "wheeping" babies with a tasty smorgasbord of bugs.

Another summer flycatcher dresses sportily in black and white. The eastern kingbird has a black back and head, snowy-white neck and belly, and a crisp white band on the edge of its tail.

Kingbirds announce their presence with an electric-sounding, sharp, buzzy "kzeer." They spend a lot of time perched on fence posts, treetops or power lines scanning for bugs. When a kingbird spies an insect, it dashes out, with quick shallow wing beats, to grab its prey in midair. Eastern kingbirds do not nest in cavities, preferring to build large cup-shaped nests in trees, shrubs or even on power line towers or dead snags over water.

The members of the swallow family are diligent in performing their bug-eating duties. Swallows feed differently than flycatchers. With streamlined wings and tail, they pursue insects in long, continuous flights. Purple martins, the largest swallows in the New World, rely almost completely on human provided houses and gourds for nesting in the eastern United States. Contrary to popular opinion, martins do not eat 2000 mosquitoes a day, particularly if there are larger bugs available.

The elegant barn swallow, with its dark blue back, rusty chest and deeply forked tail, builds its nest out of mud and grasses in open buildings, under eaves, and beneath bridges and docks. Barn swallows, like purple martins, generally capture and eat their food in the air. When they have hungry chicks, both parents work from dawn to dusk bringing home the flies, beetles, wasps, moths and butterflies.

Songbirds are not the only bug-lovers in the bird kingdom. Some raptors, especially the kites, also indulge in bug feeding frenzies. Showy swallow-tailed kites and their smaller cousins, the Mississippi kites, gather over newly mown hayfields. They put on mid-afternoon air shows that are as impressive, albeit much quieter, than those of the Blue Angels. They swoop; they dive; they plunge from great heights to grasp dragonflies in their talons. They eat on the wing, and dive for more.

Except for the bluebird, all these bug-eaters are neo-tropical migrants. When the temperatures drop and the insect populations plummet, they'll be headed south, to the Bahamas, Costa Rica, Argentina, or Brazil. Quietly, they'll slip away, leaving our trees and sky oddly empty and silent.

So get out your hat and sunscreen. Don't miss the chance to enjoy these bug-loving birds of summer.

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